1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to data storage systems and, more specifically, to a data storage system that tracks storage operations of virtual machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Virtual machines are often employed because they allow a single computer system to emulate multiple physical computer systems that can implement different system platforms. Virtual machines also permit the sharing of a computer system's hardware resources among multiple virtual machines. Various software products, such as VMWARE'S ESX, have been developed to implement and manage virtual machines on computer systems.
Data storage systems are also being developed to preserve content produced by computer systems that execute virtual machines. Typically, data storage systems protect against the failure of individual storage devices by storing content in redundant storage systems. Various types of computer programs, including SYMANTEC'S NETBACKUP REALTIME product, may implement continuous data protection (CDP) functionality, in which changes to data content on a storage system are automatically logged in real time, permitting the state of the data at a given time to be reconstructed. In such systems, content generated by executing virtual machines may be recorded in real time.
Traditionally, backup systems that provide real-time backup support for virtual machines are inefficient. Proprietary software often is typically installed in each virtual machine in order for it to interact with the backup system, with this software is being tailored for the specific operating system of the virtual machine. Such systems may also utilize significant amounts of computer resources and are not easily scalable when executing large numbers of virtual machines with potentially different operating systems.